1. A Survey on the Educational Impact of a Resident Produced Emergency Medicine Education Podcast Stephen M Carroll, DO, Robert E Thaxton, MD Department of Emergency Medicine, San Antonio Military Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX Podcasts are a popular method of asynchronous learning among emergency medicine (EM) residents. EM Basic is a free audio podcast created and produced by an EM senior resident. Each episode discusses a common EM chief complaint at the level of a medical student or intern. In addition, a blog associated with the podcast (embasic.org) allows listeners to leave feedback and download show notes. EM Basic has 16 episodes to date with over 28,000 downloads from six continents. The blog averages 45 pages views per day since inception. Quantify the educational impact of EM Basic by surveying its listeners. Statistics regarding the popularity and subjective quality of the podcast are also reported. Listeners of EM Basic were asked to complete an anonymous 10 question survey regarding the first 10 episodes. Paper surveys were distributed to our residency and an internet survey was publicized through the podcast and the EM Basic website. The survey asked for the listener’s level of training, how useful they found the podcast, and how many times the podcast assisted them during a clinical shift. Each subjective question was scored on a 1 to 10 scale. The survey also asked participants to suggest ways of improving the podcast. Subjective data in the form of user reviews and ratings were obtained from iTunes™. Background Objective Methods Results Level of trainingNumber of participants MS-11 MS-35 MS-44 Transitional Year Intern6 EM-15 EM-28 EM-36 EM Attending2 EM Physician Assistant3 Physician Assistant Student1 Registered Nurse4 Nurse Practitioner Student1 Pharmacist1 Total47 Participants who are not medical students or EM physicians/PAs 16 (28%) Survey QuestionsAverage 1) How many episodes have you listened to?5.1 2) How useful have you found the podcast?9 3) How likely are you to recommend the podcast to a colleague?9.2 4) The podcast length is appropriate9.4 5) The depth of the material is appropriate given the target audience of medical students and interns 9.4 6) The topics of the podcast are appropriate9.3 7) How frequently have you applied the knowledge you gained from the podcast during a clinical shift? 6.9 8) How many times has the podcast helped you answer a question during a shift or on rounds? 3.1 MS-3 participants (n=5) response to question #87 Total downloads (as of 3/12/2012)- 28,574 (Average 125 downloads per day) Total page views on embasic.org- 10,257 (Average 45 page views per day) Show notes downloads- 3,851 Featured on the “New and Noteworthy” section for medical podcasts on iTunes™ Ratings and Comments 48 “5 star” ratings and 1 “4 star” rating on iTunes™ “…clear, concise, and very easy to understand” “As a third year med student, it’s hard to find “basic” blogs out there on EM, so this has been a great find…” “This should be a required primer for all new docs”- Dr. Rob Orman, creator of the ERCast podcast International listeners requested the use of generic drug names and for a slower pace of speaking A podcast created by an EM senior resident can have a positive educational impact and be well received Listeners to EM Basic can identify specific instances where the podcast assisted them during clinical practice While limited by sample size (n=5), EM Basic may have a larger impact on third year medical students given the increased frequency at which they apply what they learn from the podcast (average 7 vs. 3.1 instances reported) Although it was intended for medical students and EM interns, EM Basic serves a wide variety of healthcare professionals given that 28% of the responses were from transitional year interns and various other healthcare professionals When starting a podcast, it may be helpful to international listeners to include generic drug names and use a slower pace of speaking Being featured on iTunes™ or a well established EM blog may significantly increase podcast downloads and subscribers Conclusions The view(s) expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Brooke Army Medical Center, the U.S. Army Medical Department, the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, the Department of the Army, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.